Interview: Shehnai can win back audiences if government promotes it - Bismillah

It was a rare event by all counts, but Ustad Bismillah Khan's "shehnai" concert at the parliament on August 6 became a non-event despite the presence of President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

But the lack of enthusiasm on the part of the audience did not deter 87-year-old Ustad Bismillah Khan from being his vibrant self, and playing his 'shehnai'for about an hour, accompanied by his disciple and vocalist, Suman Ghoshal.

The octogenarian maestro had been in the news this summer because of his financial difficulties, and his appeal to the Indian government for assistance. After much procrastination, the Prime Minister's Office promised to give Rs200,000, a promise that is yet to be fulfilled. But financial worries do not matter to the Ustad.

In a modest hotel, the Ustad reminisces about his childhood in Bihar, his attachment to Varanasi.

Excerpts:

Gulf News: You performed in Parliament after more than 50 years. Was there a difference ?
Bismillah Khan: Then I was a young man. Now I am old. Toothless. Ask me a more interesting question, then I will talk.

When did you first take to the shehnai?
I was about eight or nine. My father gave me the shehnai to play. We used to play at the temple in Dumrao in Bihar. I was born there. It is in Arrah district. And every day, after playing at the temple, we used to receive "laddoo" which weighed "sawa ser" (an old Indian measure for a kilogramme). And the whole family used to eat. It was made of pure ghee. You do not get that kind of ghee now. And my mother used to prepare breakfast for me and my elder brother which consisted of vegetables and wheat flour and ghee. It was so nutritous.

Do you think that music could help in national integration?
Why only national? Music is universal. Nations and leaders are transitory. Where is Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, the British?. Music is not confined to nations.

How would you explain your playing music in temples?
You know of the old saying that if you look upon a stone as a mere stone, then it is nothing. But if you look upon it with devotion, then it acquires sanctity. If a person bows before a stone with devotion, then Allah, Who is Merciful and Beneficent, lets him have the benefit of his devotion. Whichever way you pray, God is Formless. You cannot see God even as you cannot see a musical note. You can only hear a musical note.

You can only feel the Divine Presence. In the Holy Koran, there is mention of "Lahne Dawood". "Lahne" means note. The musical tradition in Islam goes back to Prophet Dawood (David). My maternal side is Shi'ite, and that of my father is Sunni.

Why are you so attached to Benares?
Though I was born in Bihar, I moved to Benares when I was still a boy. I really learned the shehnai from my maternal uncle. And I have stayed on in Benares ever since. It is the place I have spent my entire life.

What is the uniqueness of the shehnai?
Almost all of the other instruments like the sitar and sarod are played with the hands. It is only the shehnai which you have to play with your lips, using your breath. The shehnai can steal the show in a music concert but it is giventime of 20 minutes after the other instrumentalists have played for two hours. The shehnai mesmerises.

Do you think classical music can hold its own?
It can win back audiences if the government promotes it. People are now taken up by film music. Compared to film music, Raag Malkauns, Raag Jaunpuri (traditional Indian modes of music) are thousands of years old. People will be attracted to them if they listen to them. Classical music will last.